Magnificent five. One among strangers: the story of one heroic life
For a long time it was impossible to speak officially about these people, but it was they who made a significant contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War - the bloodiest and most brutal confrontation of the last century. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service will soon celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of an outstanding person who occupies a special place in the galaxy of legendary intelligence officers - Kim Philby (1912-1988).
What is the mystery and uniqueness of this person? Philby is a British subject who deliberately began to cooperate with Soviet intelligence, realizing that only the Soviet Union could resist the Nazi threat. This man's name is included in everything teaching aids Western intelligence services. British intelligence still shudders at the mention of Kim Philby.
What achievement did Philby consider the most significant in his activities and whether archival materials relating to the activities of this legendary intelligence officer will ever be fully opened, the head of the Press Bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Ivanov, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
- Almost everything is known about Kim Philby, what new things did you discover when studying materials about him?
It is a big misconception to think that everything is known about Kim Philby. This figure, this personality will not be fully studied either by our contemporaries or by subsequent generations of intelligence officers - this man had too many-sided talent. The book contains references to his views, facts from his biography, and his attitude to the dramatic events that took place in the world in the last century. The facts presented in the book are of interest to scientists, researchers, and people deeply interested in the history of intelligence services. I am delighted that the book was published this year in anticipation of the centenary of Kim Philby's birth.
It turns out that only the “tip of the iceberg” has been revealed, and all documents about the activities of this legendary intelligence officer will never be published?
I think that's exactly the case. It is customary in intelligence that all materials related to the activities of an intelligence officer are not fully disclosed, despite the passage of time. There are objective reasons for this; first of all, this is caused by the operational need to keep secret some details of his biography and his activities.
- What was Philby particularly proud of?
For me, the most amazing thing was that when Philby was asked what was the most important thing he did in his biography, he repeatedly repeated: “Prokhorovka.” For a person who devoted his entire life to the fight against fascism, providing assistance Soviet troops in the fight against Nazi Germany in one of the most difficult and dramatic battles of the Great Patriotic War was probably a real achievement. The fact that Philby was proud until the end of his days that he and his friends were able to convey to the USSR materials about the plans of the fascists on the eve of the Battle of Kursk characterizes the man as a true humanist, an anti-fascist. What the “five” did on the eve of the war, as well as during the war against fascism, deserves the most high awards and the most kind words today's generation of people living on earth.
- How did a scout and a husband, a father, a family man get along in this man?
This question, of course, first of all should be asked to Rufina Ivanovna ( Rufina Ivanovna Pukhova-Philby is the wife of Kim Philby. - approx. edit). She always talks about him as a very caring, gentle, intelligent and smart person. He had a brilliant understanding of psychology and had a keen sense of his interlocutor. Philby has always been a support for his wife, and she was the human support for him that helped him adapt to our life after arriving from abroad.
- Kim Philby is English by birth, and worked for the Soviet Union. It turns out that he worked against his Motherland?
You understand, he did not work against someone, he worked “for”. He worked for the idea of creating a more just world. Worked for the creation anti-Hitler coalition. He worked so that the Soviet Union could win that terrible war. Because he understood perfectly well that the USSR is the only country that can really resist Hitler’s Germany. His views were shared by a large number of people not only in England, but in France, the USA and other countries. Rather, Kim Philby did not act against his country, helping the Soviet Union, but for it.
- How will the SVR celebrate the centenary of Kim Philby?
I think this will happen behind closed doors; we have a military ritual when we honor veterans, honored people, on their birthdays.
The activities of Kim Philby are carefully studied by foreign intelligence services in intelligence schools, and our intelligence officers take a course in class about Kim Philby’s work abroad?
The SVR is strong because it stands on the traditions laid down by our senior comrades. We respect not only their gray hair or their awards, but also their invaluable experience. I would like to note that the book about Kim Philby, published by the Molodaya Gvardiya publishing house in the Life of Remarkable People series, is of great importance for young guys who have just joined intelligence or for those who are just planning to join the SVR.
"Kim Philby" by Nikolai Dolgopolov
The book of writer and journalist Nikolai Dolgopolov “Kim Philby” tells about Kim Philby. It was prepared with the assistance of the Press Bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service and dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the intelligence officer’s birth (1912-1988).
To prepare the book, the SVR declassified part of the documents about the activities of the intelligence officer in different years- Kim Philby's notes on his work in British intelligence, his reports to Moscow, confidential messages, an alarming letter to the resident Soviet intelligence in Beirut, an inventory of secret documents transferred to the Center.
The book also reveals a number of little-known pages from the life of the legendary intelligence officer after his flight in 1963 from Beirut to Moscow. The narrative includes the memories of the intelligence officer's widow Rufina Pukhova-Philby, his students and colleagues.
The Philby phenomenon has been studied by all intelligence services in the world for more than half a century. Hundreds of articles, books and whole line films.
"World is not fair"
Harold Adrian Russell Philby born on January 1, 1912 in India in the family of a British official. His father gave him the nickname Kim, in honor of the hero of the novel of the same name. R. Kipling. But his grandmother raised him in England. A representative of one of the oldest British families graduated with honors from Westminster School, and in 1929 he entered Trinity College Cambridge University. “As a 19-year-old student, I came to the conclusion: the rich have a damn good life, and the poor have a damn bad life, and it’s time to change all this. The English poor at that time were considered inferior people. I remember my grandmother telling me: “Don’t play with these children. They are dirty, and you can catch something from them,” Philby said in an interview with the writer Phillip Knightley in 1988 - As soon as I came to the conclusion that the world was so damn unfair, I was faced with the question of how to change this situation. I became interested in the problems of socialism."
This photo is considered by Kim R. Pukhova to be the best (England, 50s). Photo: From personal archive
In 1931, Kim went to Europe and was horrified: Mussolini had already come to power in Italy, it was not long before the Nazis came to Germany. “However, there was a strong base of left forces - the Soviet Union, and I believed that I had to make my contribution to ensure that this base continued to exist at all costs,” Philby said. Kim began to work for the USSR not for the sake of money, not because of blackmail and threats. He simply hated Nazism. “In the spring of 1934, they established contact with me and asked if I would like to join the Soviet intelligence service. I accepted this offer without hesitation.”
Influenced the outcome of the war
Kim began working as a special correspondent for The Times during civil war in Spain, carrying out Soviet intelligence missions. According to Spanish journalists, Philby not only penetrated the inner circle of the future dictator Franco, but also managed to receive from his hands in 1938 the “Order of the Red Cross for military merit.”
In August 1939, Philby returned to London, where he joined SIS, Britain's foreign intelligence service. And already in 1941 he became deputy head of counterintelligence SIS! Thanks to him, the USSR had accurate information about all British operations. For example, when a “club” of politicians from the Third Reich prepared the ground for a secret conspiracy with London to start fighting together against the Soviets and Stalin, Philby blocked the conclusion of this agreement. It was he who rejected the Nazi proposal transmitted through secret channels. admiral V. Canaris to meet with SIS head S. Menzies. “The complete defeat of Germany was a matter of principle for me. It was difficult for me to forget what the Germans had done,” Kim recalled.
But he himself admitted that his most important business was Prokhorovka. In 1943, information was received from Philby in the USSR about the movements of German troops - in particular, that the Wehrmacht’s attention was focused on the Kursk Bulge and the enemy knew the plans for the upcoming Soviet military operation. It was thanks to these messages that the Soviet command changed the plan of attack, and the famous largest tank battle took place, which turned the tide of the war.
In total, during the war years, Philby transferred 914 important documents to Moscow. Many of them are still marked “secret”.
Failure and Escape
In 1949, Kim Philby was sent to Washington to supervise joint activities British intelligence services, the FBI and the CIA “to combat the communist threat.” This appointment spoke of absolute confidence in Philby in London. Moreover, his next post was to be... the head of the British intelligence services! During that period, Kim actually thwarted anti-Soviet protests in socialist Albania and prevented a bloodbath in the Balkans. He coordinated a joint operation between the CIA and SIS to infiltrate agents into that country in the late 1940s and early 1950s in order to stir up an insurrection there. Philby reported this operation to the KGB, and the agents were caught and shot after landing.
The most important issue for the Cambridge Five was the nuclear issue. They were the first to inform the Center about the work of US and British nuclear scientists on atomic bomb. All Philby's reports were delivered immediately Stalin. In 1947 Soviet leader signed a decree awarding Philby the Order of the Red Banner. And two years earlier Elizabeth II awarded him an order for his services in intelligence British Empire.
Awards from the legendary intelligence officer Kim Philby. Photo: Moscow Agency / Andrey Lyubimov
However, in 1951, two members of the Cambridge Five, Donald McLean And Guy Burgess, under threat of exposure, fled to the Union. Philby, who lived in the same house with Guy for some time, came under suspicion. He was recalled to London. Endless interrogations at MI5 counterintelligence. But the experienced intelligence officer did not flinch. Due to lack of evidence, Philby was released. In 1955 he was forced to resign.
But already in 1956, Kim Philby was again taken into British intelligence. Under the cover of a correspondent for The Observer newspaper and The Economist magazine, Philby is sent to Beirut. Documents about his exploits there have not yet been declassified, but in his book “My Secret War” Philby wrote: “In any case, it was of interest to Soviet intelligence to know about the subversive activities of the CIA and SIS in the Middle East.” Until January 1963, he continued to work for Soviet intelligence. But he was still exposed. Kim disappeared from Beirut in one evening and a few days later found himself in the USSR.
I didn't regret anything
“At first, Kim was given a passport in the name Fedorov Andrey Fedorovich. But when he pronounced his Russian first, patronymic and last name with his accent, Homeric laughter began, recalls the intelligence officer’s widow Rufina Pukhova. — And then he himself suggested a neutral surname — Martins. In the “place of birth” column there was “New York”, and in the “nationality” column there was “Latvian”.
In Moscow, comfortable conditions were created for him: a luxurious apartment in the center, a salary of 500 rubles, no problems with food and English newspapers. But it was a golden cage. Kim dreamed of working in intelligence and leading an active lifestyle. However, the Soviet intelligence services understood that Philby’s figure was causing great irritation in London; they could have tried to kill or kidnap him. Due to depression, the Englishman began to drink. Only his Russian wife was able to save him from drunkenness. When they met in 1970, Rufina Pukhova was 38, and Kim was nearly 60. “We lived together for 18 years, and after two years the problem with alcohol no longer existed. He worked a lot, he had students,” says the widow.
The widow of Soviet intelligence officer K. Philby Rufina Pukhova-Philby during the opening of an exhibition dedicated to Soviet intelligence officer Kim Philby in the house of the Russian Historical Society. Photo: Moscow Agency
“In 1973, new personnel came to intelligence. And then they remembered that a man of exceptional talents and qualities had been living in Moscow for 10 years, and the department that deals with England was simply obliged to get to know him,” recalls retired SVR Major General Yuri Kobaladze. “A whole galaxy of Soviet intelligence officers studied with him.”
Kim spent 25 years in the USSR. He said: “My home is here, and although life here has its difficulties, I would not exchange this home for any other.”
The Riga tube receiver "Festival" still works properly. Photo: Moscow Agency / Andrey Lyubimov
According to Rufina Pukhova, although Kim was considered a traitor in England, his home library (12 thousand volumes) and an antique table of the 17th century. delivered to Moscow in containers. The children, and then the grandchildren of the intelligence officer, who lived in the West, were sent annually to the USSR to see Philby. Kim Philby died on May 11, 1988, and was buried in the new Kuntsevo cemetery. On September 15 this year, a unique exhibition was opened, where declassified archival documents SVR, reflecting Philby's operational work, his awards and personal belongings. Opening the exhibition Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin noted that Philby consciously made a choice in favor of cooperation with Soviet intelligence and never regretted it. In 1988, answering the writer Knightley’s question whether he would do the same if he had to do it all over again, the intelligence officer answered without hesitation: “Certainly.”
Source: Igor Prokopenko’s program “Military Secret” from 08/19/13. Episode 7.
The Russian soldier covered himself with unfading glory in this battle, but few people know that the success of the Red Army depended not least on our intelligence officers.
German General Alfred Jodl said at the Nuremberg trials that the Ziatdel operation failed only because information about it appeared in Moscow even earlier than on his desk.
Little-known details of this battle of giants in the historical investigation of Valentina Polyakova:
“This is a miracle of German technology from the Second World War - the Enigma encryption machine.
In 1941, the British managed to capture her unharmed from the German submarine U-110, which they torpedoed. It was thanks to this encryption machine that the British learned the secret code used in the Wehrmacht.
Using this code, British intelligence services had access to all communications from the Wehrmacht High Command and even from Hitler himself.
“One of the first messages about the upcoming Battle of Kusk came precisely from Cairncross, through a German report where it was described what troops were used and the location of airfields there...”
In the practice of intelligence services, there is an unspoken rule - information is only considered reliable when it is received from several sources. Information that the Germans were preparing some kind of large-scale operation came from both the partisans and military counterintelligence.
One of the important messages was sent by the real Russian Stirlitz - our intelligence officer Nikolai Kuznetsov. During the war, under the name of German officer Paul Siebert, he worked under the guise of a member of the German secret police. He was well-known in the officer circles of the Wehrmacht, intelligence services and senior officials of the occupation authorities. The information came from Kuznetsov, so to speak, first-hand.
“Suddenly, new data came from the same Kuznetsov: it turns out that the Germans are transferring outlandish troops from Africa, absolutely unlike anything else, not seen in several years of war in Russia. These were tanks of some sand color. These were soldiers and officers in tunics completely unusual cut. As if they were lying somewhere in the sand, the Soviet command realized that armies were being transferred from distant Africa.
On May 3, 1943, the first discussion of the plan for Operation Citadel took place at a meeting in Munich. Hitler personally supervised its preparation.
“The general plan of the Citadel was as follows: in the Kursk area, from the south and north - south of Orel and north of Belgorod, two powerful strike groups were to be assembled. Having gone on the offensive, they were supposed to meet approximately on the fifth - seventh day, depending on the plan. ... uh... were supposed to meet east of Kursk, closing a ring around the troops of two fronts - Central and Voronezh."
Moscow, Kremlin, April 12, 1943. On this day, the newly translated exact text of Directive Number Six of the German High Command landed on Stalin’s desk. This document was signed by all Wehrmacht services. Only the main one was missing - Hitler. This directive was called “On the plan for Operation Citadel.” Hitler will sign it only in three days. That is, three days after his main opponent gets acquainted with the text.
Such military history I didn't know yet!
“On April 12, at a meeting in the Kremlin, the Soviet side made preliminary decisions on the transition to strategic defense in the Kursk ledge area. On April 15, Hitler signed an order to carry out offensive operation in the Kursk Bulge area under the code name Citadel."
But not only the dates and the number of advancing troops were important. Much more serious was the information about the tactical and technical characteristics of the latest German technology.
The secret information from Cairncross included data on the power, maneuverability and armor protection of combat vehicles. The scout reported on the results of the latest tests at German testing grounds; information about the thickness of the armor and the composition of the steel of the newest German Tigers and Panthers was received in the USSR already in April 1943.
The Soviet side was given the opportunity to take emergency measures to develop new weapons.
“They even conveyed exact information about what the thickness of the armor would be and what shells there would be that would pierce our Soviet armor with the help of Ferdinand self-propelled guns. Let’s pay tribute to our military industry - we went for a sharp thickening Soviet tanks and made our armor-piercing shells even more powerful.
And the signal was given, but from the Soviet side. Our troops attacked first.
“It was such a powerful blow to the German positions that the Germans were simply stunned. There were many losses. The artillery hit right on target. The Germans were demoralized. They were literally raised to attack by officers with pistols in their hands.”
Now this historical monument here reminds us of the events of 70 years ago - our legendary T-34 crushes German tanks on an eternal pedestal. On the marble bas-reliefs are the names of those who fell on the Arc of Fire. Here at memorial complex Even on weekdays it is always crowded. But today it is difficult to imagine that in 1943 literally every centimeter of this land melted under heavy fire. Look at these footage chronicling the battle: tanks from both sides are moving towards each other in a continuous avalanche. Then the infantry attacks and the artillery strikes. The fighting did not subside day or night.
“The Voronezh Front fought heroically and the commander of the Voronezh Front... It was luck that Vatutin was here, after all, he was called a chess player in his midst. He managed to hold the line during this difficult period, hold the striking wedges of Mainstein, but with forces and means that were not were intended to fight a superior... qualitatively superior enemy.
The high losses that the Germans suffered were less than us, but nevertheless the very high losses they suffered in equipment, and especially in people, but the capabilities of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht were equal."
“Kim was very fond of even remembering this, although he did not like any talk about his exploits, about what he had accomplished. Here he always said the same thing. And having never learned the Russian language very well, Kim was inspired and spoke in Russian: Prokhorovka, Prokhorovka, the village of Prokhorovka. This is where he believed that he did the most good. Because it was here that he saved the most lives.”
For information about the preparations for Operation Citadel, Soviet intelligence officer John Cairncross was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Battle, the highest military award. The Order was secretly transported to London and presented to Cairncross in a safe house.
“Commander Crechon, under such a pseudonym one of the Soviet security officers acted, gave him the order, attached it to the lapel of his jacket, congratulated him, read out the Decree, let him show off in this order, immediately removed the order from him, put it in a box and the box was sent to Moscow. And you you know, it’s very interesting, one of my interlocutors, who told me about Philby and his great associates, told me this detail - in the Cairncross file, which he looked at, this very box, with this very order, is still kept."
Cairncross worked for Soviet intelligence until the early 50s. Many years later, he himself admits this during interrogation in London. But the British will not put him behind bars - after all, he fought against fascism.
Igor Prokopenko: “The Arc of Fire is what the battle on the Kursk Bulge would later be called. And this victory was given to us at a truly incredible price. Only recently did the true scale of the casualties of this battle become known: we lost about a million killed and wounded Soviet soldiers and officers. Eternal glory to the dead, to everyone who fell into these monstrous millstones of history and did not tarnish the great name of the Soviet soldier."
The exhibition was created with the support of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia and thanks to the participation of the intelligence officer’s widow, Rufina Ivanovna Pukhova-Philby, who provided her husband’s personal belongings carefully kept by her.
Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, SVR director Sergei Naryshkin noted that Kim Philby made his choice in favor of cooperation with the Soviet Union consciously, based on the convictions of an anti-fascist, guided by the principles of a fair world order, freedom and social justice.
“He never regretted this. Philby went down in history and was able to do a lot to change the course of history in favor of goodness and justice. He is a great citizen of the world,” said the director of the SVR.
The exhibition features recently declassified unique documents, provided by the SVR, Kim Philby's awards, awarded to the intelligence officer for specific results in operational activities and now stored in the Foreign Intelligence Museum.
The exhibition section adds additional value to the exhibition. dedicated to life intelligence officer in the Soviet Union. Here you can see Kim Philby's pipe and pouch, his favorite chair, cigars donated by Fidel Castro, and a hockey puck from the Izvestia tournament in 1978, which an avid Philby fan caught with his own hands.
The exhibition, dedicated, by the way, to the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Cheka (All-Russian emergency commission) , begins a series of events dedicated to the memory of the intelligence officer. Soon, this fall, Channel One will premiere a two-part series documentary film"Kim Philby. Secret War".
As part of the events dedicated to Philby planned for September, a presentation of his portrait by the famous artist Alexander Shilov is also planned: along with portraits of other famous intelligence officers, it will decorate the exhibition “They Fought for the Motherland” in the master’s gallery...
The author of these lines was lucky enough to be personally acquainted with the legendary Soviet intelligence officer: in 1987, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of his birth, on the instructions of the editors, I interviewed Kim Philb. The impression, it must be replaced, from communicating with the legend of Soviet intelligence remained indelible and is still one of the brightest and most memorable moments in my more than 40 years of journalistic activity.
30 years have passed since then, but the glorious pages of Philby’s biography, carefully studied on the eve of meeting him, are still clearly remembered. Here are just a few of them that, in our opinion, are definitely worth mentioning.
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was born in 1912 into the family of a British colonial official in India. He received the name Kim from his parents in honor of the hero of the novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling.
But even coming from an aristocratic family, Philby adhered to socialist views from a young age. He actively participated in the anti-fascist movement and in the activities of the International Organization for Assistance to Revolutionary Fighters in Vienna.
Anti-fascist work on the mainland brought Philby closer to the communists, and in 1934, returning to England, he began collaborating with Soviet illegal intelligence. During the Spanish Civil War, Philby worked as a special correspondent for The Times. On the Iberian Peninsula, he writes military reports and at the same time carries out tasks for Soviet intelligence.
After returning to London, he joins the Secret Service. intelligence service(Secret Intelligence Service, SIS) UK. Thanks to his talents, within a short time Philby became deputy head of the British counterintelligence MI-5, and then the head of the 9th SIS department, which was engaged in countering Soviet influence in the British Isles.
During the Second World War, the intelligence officer served in the British intelligence MI-6 and at the same time worked for the USSR, transferring 914 documents to Moscow. The value of the information that Soviet intelligence received from Kim Philby cannot be overestimated. His contribution to the security of our country is enormous.
It is enough to point out that on the eve of the famous tank battle In the summer of 1943, near Prokhorovka, Philby transmitted to Moscow technical data on the thickness and composition of the armor of the new German Tiger tank, and Soviet gunsmiths understood how to penetrate it. This largely predetermined the victory of the Red Army not only in that battle on the Kursk Bulge, but also in the Great Patriotic War as a whole.
Let us remember that Kim Philby was the leader of the so-called. The "Cambridge Five" were a group of intelligence officers who, in the 1930s-1950s, worked in the intelligence services and the British Foreign Office and obtained important strategic information for the USSR.
In 1955, Philby resigned, but a year later he was again recruited to serve in MI6. In the early 1960s, he came under suspicion from the British intelligence services, but Mi-5 could not find evidence of his guilt. However, fearing his possible exposure, in 1963 the intelligence officer was transported through illegal channels from Beirut, where he was then working “undercover,” to the Soviet Union.
Already in Moscow, Kim Philby meets Rufina Pukhova and marries her. The quarter century Philby spent in the USSR was an active continuation of his service in Soviet intelligence. He acted as a consultant and analyst on issues related to organizing counteraction to Western intelligence services.
Kim Philby died in Moscow in 1988 and was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery...
“A spy with principles” was the role that Kim Philby chose for himself back in 1934, when he began collaborating with Soviet intelligence for ideological reasons. Now, 105 years after Philby’s birth, it’s time to wonder: isn’t this combination of words somewhat absurd? But, apparently, Kim Philby, a great clever man, knew better. After all, the very fact of many years of intelligence work for the USSR is already the main act of his life. An act that he committed quite consciously.
Starting a double life at 22 years old and living as an illegal immigrant for almost thirty years without going crazy and raising five children at the same time is not given to everyone. And then to live another 25 years in the Soviet Union, seeing what “real socialism” is turning into, but at the same time maintaining an interest in life and respect for others, primarily for his wife Rufina, demonstrating his English “otherness” - you also need to be able to do this .
Philby, by his behavior in the USSR, proved that a real lord (and by blood he was a representative of one of the ancient families of England) is not one who speaks only with lords, but one who speaks to a garbage man as an equal, without elevating oneself by humiliating others. Such was Philby's aristocratic democracy. And this cannot be taken away from him, no matter what mistakes and actions - basically, betrayals - he has committed in his life.
It is necessary to emphasize here that many years later, the magnitude of Kim Philby’s figure was also realized in the West. The US and UK believe that he is the most famous Soviet intelligence agent operating within Western intelligence services. Even the British intelligence historian Christopher Andrew, who is merciless towards the KGB, admits in his book “The Mitrokhin Archive” that Philby was recruited in 1934 for ideological reasons.
Perhaps the current misunderstanding by some people of the actions and actions of Kim Philby is caused by the difference in eras. After all, the beginning of his intelligence work dates back to the thirties and forties - an era that in England itself is called the “age of heroes.” People sacrificed their lives or at least well-being for the sake of an idea - this is difficult to imagine today.
For Philby, for many years, the main idea was the fight against Nazism and the circles that flirted with it in Great Britain. Later he fought to maintain peace on our planet, against Western attempts to start a war against Soviet Union and socialist countries. And this, I must admit, was a lofty idea. An idea to which Kim Philby devoted his entire adult life.
Sergey Alexandrov, international observer
“I’VE BEEN SERVING RUSSIA FOR HALF A CENTURY”
Kim Philby
The Englishman Harold Adrian Russell Philby, known throughout the world as Kim, was a Soviet intelligence officer. In more than twenty years that I have been writing about intelligence, I have never come across other examples of a foreigner, and even a representative of high society, doing so much for our country. Perhaps there were more selfless people, but their contribution to our victory in World War II is not comparable to what Philby did, who almost became the head of the Secret Intelligence Service, one of the most powerful intelligence services in the world.
Who knows, perhaps somewhere in the archives there are files of Soviet and Russian agents who did even more. One of my heroes - legal intelligence officers - hinted before his death that there was, and still is, such an agent. “Oh, if only you knew, Kolka!..” He called this man either the Leader or the Monolith. But maybe he was wrong or, as it happens, he was mystifying? In the meantime, we do not know a foreign intelligence officer equal to Philby. It is not for nothing that his affairs are declassified so difficult, long, tediously and literally bit by bit.
Kim Philby considered his main success in intelligence to be the information he obtained in 1942–1943 about the offensive planned by the Germans near Kursk, called Operation Citadel. As is known, the bloody Battle of Kursk ended a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War, begun by the battle of Stalingrad, and the strategic initiative finally passed to the Red Army.
My book “Kim Philby” presents several of his reports, declassified in the summer of 2011. Among them is information about the flight from Germany to England of the prominent Nazi Rudolf Hess, information about the sabotage work of the British in the countries captured by Hitler, about the structure of the British intelligence services and characteristics of their leaders.
Philby became friends with many intelligence officers. He continued to be friends with some, such as the famous writer Graham Greene and Tommy Harris, even after his flight to the USSR from Beirut in 1963. Philby corresponded with and received, together with his wife Rufina Ivanovna, the great Greene at his home in Moscow. True, he didn’t do anything special in intelligence. Tom Harris was not afraid to send him an antique table made of solid wood to the Soviet capital. A former wealthy furniture maker, Harris made an excellent career in counterintelligence during the war. It was he who suggested to his superiors in June 1941 that they use Philby, who worked in Spain as a correspondent for The Times and could well head the Spanish section.
Hearing the name Philby, SIS Deputy Director for Foreign Counterintelligence Valentin Vivian remembered Harry St. John Philby, whom he knew well. Having learned that he was Kim's father, he helped Philby Jr. become the head of the sector, which conducted counterintelligence work in the Pyrenees and, partially, in North Africa.
Then Philby gained access to the Abwehr telegrams deciphered by the British. He was one of the first to report to Moscow about the secret negotiations between its head, the German Admiral Canaris, and the British, about the timing of the admiral’s arrival in Spain. Kim, seemingly with the consent of his superiors, developed a plan to destroy Canaris, which his London leadership unexpectedly rejected. But even the hotel between Seville and Madrid, where the head of the Abwehr was supposed to stay, was well known to Kim Philby from his time working in Spain. And Kim suspected that it was not just a matter of fears of the head of the SIS, Stuart Menzies, of being in turn destroyed by the Germans. The British kept Canaris under their wing just in case, you never know...
There are assumptions, which Philby also shared, that the admiral, shot by Hitler in 1944, gave the British information that was beneficial to a group of people who planned to physically destroy the Fuhrer, end the war with the USA and Great Britain, concentrating all efforts on the fight with the USSR. Canaris, with his German agents scattered around the world, was the link between the generals dissatisfied with Hitler and our then allies. The capture or murder of the admiral was unprofitable for Menzies, whose people carefully “herded” Canaris.
Philby repeatedly informed the Center about secret separate negotiations between both the British and Americans with the Germans.
In the winter of 1941, when the Germans were driven away from Moscow, Philby gave his contact the text of a telegram from the German Ambassador in Tokyo to Reich Foreign Minister Ribbentrop about the upcoming Japanese attack on Singapore. To Singapore, not to the Soviet Union. This confirmed the reports of the Tokyo station: the Japanese were not yet going to go to war with the USSR.
Philby also used his love affairs. He was close to Eileen Fewers, who worked in the counterintelligence archive. Kim could not find his first wife, Litzi. A communist from Austria, with Jewish blood flowing in her veins, she was able to leave Vienna for England thanks to her marriage to Philby and was thus saved from Nazi persecution. But then she disappeared. Philby reported to his superiors that he could not be a bigamist and would officially enter into a new marriage only when he dissolved the previous one.
Eileen helped Kim with everything. She even allowed me to rummage through archival affairs. Philby often took volumes of intelligence reports from colleagues from different countries from the archives in order to carefully study them late at night. However, many employees did this, contrary to instructions, and turned a blind eye to it.
Did Eileen know who the information selected by Kim was intended for? Subsequently, she said that she didn’t even know about it. Kim confirmed: she didn’t know for sure. He did not initiate his lovers into his secrets.
But it seems to me that Eileen still guessed. The woman on the bed is like counterintelligence. But not necessarily the enemy.
In 1944, Philby reported to the Center that one of the heads of American intelligence confidentially told him about the joint secret work of nuclear scientists in England and the United States on an atomic bomb using uranium. Moscow understood: if the allies joined forces, it means they are close to the goal. This, in turn, spurred on Stalin and Beria, forced them to mobilize as much as possible scientific personnel and allocate considerable financial resources for the creation of the Soviet atomic bomb.
Philby also managed to obtain documents that spoke about the post-war plans of the British regarding the USSR. The outcome of the war was already clear, and our allies were now concerned about the prospect of education in Eastern Europe socialist states. So the USSR turned into the main enemy for the Western world. In this regard, at the initiative of Philby’s patron Valentin Vivian, a special department was created in SIS to combat the Soviet Union.
TO English plans subversive activities against the USSR were taken more than seriously in Moscow. Philby was not given the task of getting all these documents; they were asked to at least inform him of their contents. And Philby once again did the impossible.
Experienced intelligence officer Vivian developed methods of fighting against Soviet intelligence, figured out how to sow enmity between the USSR and communist parties West, how to use disinformation to split and incite international relations against the Soviet Union communist movement. All these documents were kept in a secret folder called the Vivian Papers.
But Philby outplayed family friend Vivian, who touchingly took care of him and promoted him through the ranks. The “Vivian Papers” sent by Philby allowed the Soviet leadership to take the necessary measures during the war.
Philby collected information about agents sent by England to different countries. At first these were just complex code aliases, then they acquired real shapes and real names. A few years later, the Center already had an impressive list. There were so many of these spies that Moscow never touched some who settled in distant lands. Others, who settled closer to the Soviet borders, on the contrary, aroused great interest.
Unlike Burgess or Cairncross, Philby was an excellent conspirator. The lessons of his first teacher, the illegal immigrant “Otto” Deitch, were not in vain. He tried to instill a simple truth for him in other members of the “five”: their safety largely depends on themselves. He was especially worried about Guy Burgess. And, as subsequent events showed, not in vain.
And further. Philby, a man of a completely traditional sexual orientation, did not start moralizing conversations with any of his friends about how their homosexual relationships could attract anyone’s attention or interfere with their work. Here he hoped for luck. However, Burgess was expelled from intelligence due to his overly conspicuous, sometimes publicly advertised biases.
Apparently, Philby correctly hinted to his contacts that “this” should not be discussed with his friends. The bad inclinations acquired in childhood at some privileged private school in Marlborough could no longer be corrected by exhortations. It would not bring any benefit, but it would cause unnecessary irritability among colleagues in the “five”.
And all the contacts, from “Otto” - Deitch to “Peter” - Modin, followed Philby’s advice. This topic was avoided for many years of cooperation.
Shortly after the start of the war, Philby was assigned to oversee Allied negotiations to open a second front. And here he showed miracles of efficiency.
Delaying the opening of a second front turned into a strategic task for the Western allies. And any information on this matter from London went to Stalin’s desk. The leader was irritated by the constant excuses, and then by the unfulfilled promises of Roosevelt and Churchill. He was especially infuriated by the duplicity of the British Prime Minister. He promised Stalin that a second front would open very soon, but he convinced Roosevelt that the time had not yet come. Philby informed that the opening of the second front was being delayed deliberately and the Soviet side should not have any illusions on this score.
At the end of the Great Patriotic War, another unpleasant disagreement arose between the USSR and its allies. The supplies of explosives that were so expected from the British were disrupted. Their caravans delivered any kind of cargo to Murmansk, but not explosives, which the advancing Red Army really needed. Philby's message that this was being done quite deliberately, and not through oversight or negligence, oddly enough, reassured Stalin. He realized that here too he had to rely on his own strength.
With great concern, Moscow received information from Philby about a possible war between the USSR and the Allies. They discussed among themselves whether it was realistic to begin military operations against the Soviet Union if Stalin continued his attack on West Germany after the capture of Berlin. Perhaps this message from Philby to some extent cooled the ardor of Joseph Vissarionovich.
Let us note that the “five” acted separately. It was not a single group, a well-coordinated team. According to the terms of the game, its members had no right to contact. The role of the unifying link was performed, under the strictest secrecy, by Kim Philby. Sometimes even the self-confident Burgess turned to him for professional advice.
Were there any repetitions in the information transmitted to Moscow? Of course there were. For example, counterintelligence information coming from Blunt was not duplicated, but confirmed by Philby. In intelligence, the concept of “a lot of information” does not exist. It is very important that data from one source is confirmed by all others.
Despite the suspicions of disinformation hovering in the corridors of the Lubyanka, the Cambridge Five were valued, especially after Philby and Cairncross warned Moscow about the German advance near Kursk.
Analyzing the information conveyed by all members of the Cambridge Five, you come to the conclusion that the most important source was Kim Philby. And from 1947, when he headed the notorious 9th Department for the fight against communism, and until 1951, he had no equal either in value or efficiency.
In 1945, the Cambridge Five were almost destroyed by the betrayal of Soviet intelligence officer Konstantin Volkov, who worked in Istanbul under the roof of the Soviet consulate. For 30 thousand pounds sterling, he was going to tell the British, among other secret information, the names of three Soviet agents who worked in the Foreign Office and in counterintelligence.
In London, this information reached Philby. After much delay, he allowed himself to be persuaded to go to Istanbul, having managed to report Volkov’s betrayal to the Soviet resident. Philby immediately understood who Volkov intended to extradite - Burgess and Maclean and Philby himself.
Bad weather delayed his flight to Turkey. And when he finally arrived there, no traces of Volkov could be found in Istanbul - Soviet intelligence managed to take Volkov to the Union. There have never been any official reports of his fate. One can only guess about it.
Can you imagine Philby or Burgess coming with an offer to betray their comrades for 30 pieces of silver or 30 thousand pounds? Unthinkable.
Even in England, where many hate Philby and brand him a spy, they recognized that “he was firm in his faith, absolutely devoted to his ideals, consistent in his actions. All this was aimed at creating and strengthening communist influence throughout the world.” This is what the City Zen newspaper wrote after Philby’s death in May 1988. No one, even in the West, could blame him for working for the USSR for money.
Philby had amazing self-control. She helped him more than once dangerous work. But one cannot help but admit that he was lucky. Volkov's case fell to him, and not to someone else. An employee who was supposed to go to Istanbul was terrified of flying. Although Philby also did not like to travel by air, he replaced his cowardly colleague by order of the head of SIS. Soviet intelligence worked exceptionally quickly, taking Volkov out of Turkey. But the British were too slow. Even the forces of nature were on Philby's side. His plane had to land in Tunisia due to a thunderstorm. And when Philby arrived in Istanbul, he did not find the British ambassador there, without whose consent it was impossible to come into contact with Volkov. The diplomat went on vacation for the weekend outside the city.
Are there too many cases of amazing coincidences favorable to Philby? But this is reality. Or a confirmation of the proverb - the strong are lucky.
And here it is - a double-edged sword. Heading a department whose goal was to actively fight against the USSR, Philby took risks every day. If the agents he sent had immediately failed, the head of the department would have been taken under suspicion, and perhaps even identified. If he had not regularly reported about agents being sent to the USSR not only by the British, but also by the intelligence services of other countries, the Soviet Union could have suffered damage. Dilemma?
Philby solved it together with his colleagues from the Center. He warned about the impending dispatch of agents, and Moscow carefully considered what to do with them. These were mainly people from the Caucasus, from the Baltic states, who fled with the Germans and went over to the side of the former allies of the Soviet Union. Sometimes they were deliberately let through by border guards who knew in advance about crossing the border, allowed them to settle in our country, identified their connections, and then arrested them. Some violators died. Philby assured: there was not a single Englishman among them. Spies were often re-recruited. Then they started radio games.
Since 1945, the British tried to send as many spy groups as possible into the Baltic republics and Ukraine. But the spy groups, trained mainly from native Ukrainians who fled to Canada after the war, were awaiting arrests. Philby even passed on the names of agents - paratroopers from three groups.
1946 showed that the British did not have any suspicions about Philby. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire. (It is somewhat blasphemous to compare it with the Order of Lenin, which Philby was also awarded, but the essence is clear.) The presentation about awarding Philby was written by his boss Menzies. The award and subsequent celebrations at Buckingham Palace further boosted Philby's stock.
Therefore, allegations that appeared in the 1980s that back in the early 1950s Sir Stuart Menzies, who then headed SIS and suspected a colleague of a Soviet agent, had fooled Philby by deliberately feeding him misinformation, sound ridiculous.
Complete nonsense,” one CIA veteran who closely followed the Philby case told the Washington Post. - This man was a Soviet spy from the very beginning to the end. By the time of his death, he had acquired all the necessary attributes of a hero in a work of fiction.
But the fact of the matter is that the intelligence officer lived a real, everyday life. He finally divorced Litzi and married his life partner of many years, Eileen Fears. Before the wedding, they already had three children, and soon a fourth appeared. Family life turned out quite well.
It is not surprising that Philby aspired to become Mr. C - that is, to become the head of British intelligence. How then could his fate have turned out? Philip Knightley, a well-known researcher of British and other intelligence services, views such an appointment with a dose of healthy English skepticism. “After all, in the world of secret services there is a school of thought that certifies that an infiltrator who climbs too high cannot bring much benefit to the other side,” he writes. - If Philby became "C", he would have access to such important information that the KGB would have to use it, and this would mean exposing Philby. Thus, the benefit he could bring by reaching the top of the British intelligence tree would be limited."
I don't agree 100 percent with this statement, but there is some truth in it. Although I am sure that Philby would have found a way out of this situation.
He made his career in British intelligence in just five or six years. Of course, experience can be acquired, but Philby didn’t have enough of it. After all, at home they had no idea about him, one might say, parallel work, which undoubtedly gave in practical terms no less than successful activity in the British intelligence service.
By the will of fate or by the will of Philby, he, as if by chance, came into contact with people who were of great interest to Soviet intelligence. It is believed that Moscow knew nothing about Operation Venona, which had been carried out by the Americans since the war years. In short, thanks to the decipherment of intercepted telegrams from Soviet intelligence, by the end of the war and especially after it, many agents of the USSR were identified. Among them, for example, were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed at the height of McCarthyism in the United States. This is what the Americans say.
Operation Venona was kept completely secret for many years. Even the Soviet agents who were put on trial were not charged with charges that could have made it clear to the KGB that some of the coded messages had been deciphered.
Back in the 1990s, Hero of Russia Vladimir Borisovich Barkovsky told me that, firstly, the “main enemy” managed to decipher only fragments of several telegrams, which yielded little. Barkovsky considered “Venona” an almost useless waste of a huge amount of money. And secondly, we knew about all these “Venona” back in the late 1950s. To my legitimate question “where from?” Barkovsky just shrugged.
When the archives - ours and others' - were opened a little, the answer became absolutely clear. From Philby. He first heard about this before leaving for the United States from the head of the 9th department, Maurice Oldfield. Of course, SIS wanted to know how the decryption was going, in which the British provided all possible assistance to the allies from the States.
I read the book “Operation Venona” and I believe that things, although slowly, were moving. Philby managed to meet the talented codebreaker Gardner. The friendly relationship between them grew into friendship. Philby was sometimes even able to catch a glimpse of the results of Gardner's work. That’s why I learned that secret American documents were constantly being leaked from the British Embassy in Washington. Philby realized that his friend in the Five, Donald Maclean, was under real threat.
Fortunately for all five, the British for some reason decided that the leak was coming from technical and support personnel, and not from diplomats. Staff lowest rank tortured by blanket checks. This delayed the investigation for years.
American sources flashed information about the connections of Philby, who constantly worked as a representative of the SIS in Washington, with another legendary Soviet intelligence officer - illegal immigrant William Fisher - Colonel Rudolf Abel. They probably knew each other from work in pre-war England, and met far from the American capital, presumably in Canada. There were no friendly relations between them. Fischer was ascetic and strict. And Philby, by character, was his antipode. But this did not interfere with the joint work of the intelligence officers who ended up in the States.
The British accuse Philby of treason. In fact, he remained faithful to the oath he took in his youth. Philby began collaborating with Soviet foreign intelligence in the 1930s, and was accepted into the ranks of another intelligence service during World War II. So who did he betray? His selfless work in the name of an idea evokes only respect. Integrity, honesty, and gentlemanliness helped him live his life the way he wanted.
Philby did not betray his compatriots and never worked against England. And he taught his Moscow students to work not “against England,” but “for England.” Philby repeated more than once that not a single Englishman died through his fault or as a result of his actions. He worked “across England” - everyone ignores this. He had a different approach to intelligence.
Yes, agents were destroyed, for example, in post-war Albania. And Philby gave an answer to this to the British journalist Philip Knightley: “There should be no regrets. Yes, I played a role in thwarting the Western plan to organize a bloodbath in the Balkans. But those who conceived and planned this operation accepted the possibility of bloodshed for political purposes. The agents they sent to Albania were armed and determined to carry out acts of sabotage and murder. Therefore, I did not feel regret for contributing to their destruction - they knew what they were doing.”
And in Turkey, during the Great Patriotic War, saboteurs from various diasporas crossing the Soviet border were arrested. They were sent to fight against their compatriots in Armenia, Georgia and other republics.
And the traitor Volkov, who first proposed post-war years services to the British were taken from Istanbul. It is clear what fate awaited him. But if Volkov had gone over to the wrong side, how many people would have been arrested and executed.
This is what Philby said in one of his rare interviews with Soviet television: “I have no doubt that if I had to do it all over again, I would start the way I started and even better.”
And in a conversation with Knightley in his Moscow apartment, he said: “As for returning to my homeland, today’s England is a foreign country for me. Life here is my life and I have no plans to move anywhere. This is my country, which I have served for over fifty years. I want to be buried here. I want my remains to rest where I worked."
Some of Kim’s friends, who worked with him for the USSR, the same Anthony Blunt, eventually left the race: 1945, the war ended, and they honestly stated: they helped defeat the common enemy - fascism, and now that’s it, bayonet into the ground. Philby remained with us always. And when before the war, due to Stalin’s repressions, for almost a year and a half, the “five” had no contact with the Center. And when he was considered a double agent. For decades he worked for the Soviet Union away from it, and then for 25 years in Moscow, which became his home.
But sometimes there was distrust of Philby. He and his friends showed up for meetings with Soviet liaison officers at any time, and did not hide in bomb shelters, even when the Germans were bombing London. It was a huge risk. They worked under force majeure circumstances. And in Moscow they were sometimes not believed. So Kursk Bulge became a turning point not only in the Great Patriotic War, but also in relation to the Cambridge Five.
Perhaps some suspicions arose during the period of repressions of 1937. At that time they shot English, German, and American spies - everyone. And suddenly an English source appears who writes: “There are only two or three Soviet agents in touch at the British Embassy in Moscow.” Two three! How so? “British agents” in the NKVD were shot in the hundreds, thousands, and someone from London writes that they only have two or three agents. It can't be like that! So he's lying. It turned out that the wave of those repressions gave rise to distrust in ourselves.
But Philby endured this too. His wife Rufina Ivanovna told me that Kim was very offended by Guy Burgess, who fled to Moscow. Maclean listened to Philby - saving his life, he eluded inevitable arrest. Why did Burgess stay in Moscow? After all, if not for his disappearance, Philby, he firmly believed in this, could have worked and worked. And so the intelligence officer’s career actually ended. Despite suspicions and investigations, Philby managed to remain free, even getting a job as a journalist in Beirut. But in 1963 he had to escape from there on a Soviet cargo ship.
Kim Philby was already over fifty when he found himself in a new, unusual environment. If you like, Philby found himself in Moscow in our political stagnation. He saw and understood everything. According to Rufina Ivanovna, he reacted to Brezhnev’s “dear tovarrishi” and protracted kisses with his comrades, by swearing. But he didn’t renounce. Brezhnevism is blooming, Philby is inactive, his powerful potential is not used. New recognition - his studies with young intelligence officers, the publication of his books - came much later. The truth always comes through.
Philby took perestroika well and perked up. However, a whole era was passing, which was also his era. And Philby left with her. He left in an aura of purity, romanticism and faith in the country for which he worked and risked for several decades...
For outstanding services, Kim Philby was awarded with orders Lenin, the Red Banner, the Patriotic War of the 1st degree and Friendship of Peoples. His personal contribution to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War over Nazi Germany is enormous. Everyone admits this, even those who hate him.
One of my high-ranking intelligence interlocutors said:
Philby did so much for the Victory over Nazi Germany! When I went into the materials, into the case, and looked at it carefully, a feeling of injustice arose. How is it that he accomplished so much and is not a Hero of the Soviet Union? Why? I began to bring this idea to management. They explained to me that the time was wrong - 1987. Perhaps Gorbachev did not want complications with the British. However, this idea did not receive support. And suddenly a document arrives from our then boss Kryuchkov, which in turn came from the reception office of Yasnov, then chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. And a note to him: “Vladimir Alexandrovich, (this is for Kryuchkov) please consider the attached letter.” In it, three Kharkov students write: how is it that such an outstanding person made a great contribution to the cause of Victory and is not a Hero? Not long before this, Philby’s interview with the famous journalist Genrikh Borovik was shown on television, and the guys apparently watched this program. And when an appeal was received to confer the title of Hero in this way, they gave the command to prepare a performance. We started preparing documents. But on May 11, 1988, Kim Philby passed away. And somehow they forgot about the show.
Or maybe we’ll remember after all?
From the book Beyond the Volga there was no land for us. Notes from a Sniper author Zaitsev Vasily Grigorievich19. I serve the Soviet Union. I have a blindfold over my eyes and a whole crown of bandages on my head. I don't see anything. It’s hard to say how many days and nights passed after I fell into this darkness. After all, a sighted person greets each new day with the onset of dawn and parts with it at
From the book Service in the Stalinist GRU and Escape from It. Escape of a Tatar from Red Army intelligence author Akhmedov IsmailKim Philby In a strange twist, fate again brought me face to face with the KGB (at that time it was already called the MGB), although at that time I did not know about it and could not have known. For several weeks Kim Philby interviewed me and I could not even imagine his intentions. It was the time after
From the book Hello, it's me! author Carriers Valery Kuzmich“He whom I serve will punish...” Friends, here you go! Then you know - the Marauders will dig me up... Nikita Vysotsky said in one of his interviews: father - whether we want it or not - is a historical man. And everyone who writes about Vysotsky, wittingly or unwittingly, ends up in
Science from Kim Philby One day an evening call rang at my house: on the phone was my old friend, with whom we, going different life paths, we communicate occasionally. We talked about this and that, and suddenly: - I saw a program on television about intelligence. I agree with your speech -
From the book The Main Enemy. The secret war for the USSR author Dolgopolov Nikolay MikhailovichHow Philby was “discovered” It’s difficult for me to talk about what happened before 1975-1976. Philby and I met precisely during these years. Yes, until then there is a veil of secrecy over Philby. Even for our own people. They protected him and ensured his safety. And in principle this is understandable. But how did it arise in
From the book Smersh vs Abwehr. Secret operations and legendary intelligence officers author Zhmakin MaximI serve as a security guard. In the morning I dialed the required phone number. I introduce myself. “Mikhail Fedorovich, there is an offer to work in the combat training of the Customs Committee. A customs guard department was recently created, and it has a combat training department.” Briefly told what
From the book Apology of Memory author Leshchenko Lev ValeryanovichI SERVE THE WORKING PEOPLE News about Oktyabrskaya socialist revolution, as well as about the February one, came to Orenburg somewhat later than to other cities located closer to the center of Russia. In the Orenburg province, a significant part of the Cossacks lived prosperously and therefore were
From the book Serving the Motherland. Pilot's stories author Kozhedub Ivan NikitovichScience from Kim Philby Among those few great intelligence officers who could easily be placed in the same narrow row with Abel-Fisher is the Englishman Kim Philby. Once I had the opportunity to meet one of those who proudly considers himself a student of Philby... FROM THE DOSSIER Kim,
The cat left the book, but the smile remained author Danelia Georgy Nikolaevich From the book Feat 1972 No. 06 (Supplement to the magazine “Rural Youth”) author Likhanov Albert AnatolievichI serve in the army. In Tambov, where we, a group of shaved-headed recruits, arrived early in the morning from Moscow, we were placed in a summer soldiers' camp. Thank God the weather was good, as we also had to set up the tents ourselves. After which we were counted out at
From the book The President's Crown of Thorns author Ilyumzhinov Kirsan Nikolaevich4. I SERVE THE SOVIET UNION! Aviation Day has arrived - August 18th. Already the day before it was known that the weather was expected to be bad and the air parade would not take place. I decide to spend the holiday with old friends. The unit in which my combat life began stood not far from
From the author's bookI SERVE THE SOVIET UNION! Once Morgunov and I were going to the Cinema House, at the trolleybus stop we waited for the trolleybus, we entered, the trolleybus started moving, and suddenly he announced: “Comrades, get your tickets ready!” The trolleybus passengers, there were not many of them, began to take them out of their pockets and
From the author's book19. I SERVE THE SOVIET UNION I have a blindfold over my eyes and a whole crown of bandages on my head. I don't see anything. It’s hard to say how many days and nights passed after I fell into this darkness. After all, a sighted person greets each new day with the onset of dawn and parts with it at
From the author's bookI serve the Soviet Union! Either due to our Russian slackness, or for some other reason, incomprehensible in other countries, the autumn conscription somehow bypassed me. My peers were drafted a month ago and walked in formation, singing in chorus the favorite song of the Soviet generals.